


Contingency Plans

by ChaoticNeutral



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akumatized Chat Noir, Gen, Hawk Moth is an idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-08 17:12:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15248004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticNeutral/pseuds/ChaoticNeutral
Summary: Hawk Moth thinks victory is as good as his when he happens to akumatize Chat Noir. He will see his goal through, even if it means turning one of the heroes of Paris against his partner.After all, he's a villain, and villains don't play fair.But that's okay, neither does Ladybug.





	Contingency Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Because Marinette is not so secretly a master of strategy and no one will convince me otherwise.

* * *

 

_"Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity."_

 

Truer words were never spoken. There's a reason Ladybug is lucky, after all.

 

* * *

 

Hawk Moth thought it was his most ingenious plan yet when he managed to akumatize one of Paris’s two great heroes. It meant one less hero to work against him. And one of the Miraculous he needed already within his control. After so much time and effort trying and failing, he finally was halfway to his goal and only one Miraculous away from his dream.

 

After multiple failures, he was starting to have doubts. Clearly his control over Nooroo’s abilities was flawless, but no matter what he did, he continued to fail. Oh sure, he came close to capturing Ladybug and Chat Noir, but each time the two would find some manner of escape and foil his akuma. It couldn’t be his own power at fault. That meant it had to be the people he was using as villains to face the heroes. He needed someone stronger—someone who could truly face any hero on equal ground.

 

Which was why it was all too perfect when he made Chat Noir his latest akuma.

 

After all, Chat Noir was the stronger and faster of the two. He was the one built for fighting as well as causing and taking damage. He was the perfect protector, the one who regularly took the initiative in battles and suffered the blows defending Ladybug so she could have time to plan and work her cure. He was her first and main line of defense, and without him, Ladybug was vulnerable.

 

Furthermore, with him actively working against her, not only would she be without his protection, but she would be having to face off against her own trusted partner. And with the additional powers the newly christened Chat Blanc had under Hawk Moth’s command, that only left the foolish girl at even more of a disadvantage.

 

What despair and heartache that would cause her to have to fight her ally? He could just imagine Ladybug crying out, heartbroken and in fear of being attacked by her own former ally. The betrayal. The sorrow. It almost made him giddy to contemplate it—or it would if he were not a more sophisticated sort who was certainly above such drama.

 

Because who said villains had to play fair?

 

* * *

 

When Ladybug finally arrived on the scene to discover this time that the akuma was none other than her own beloved partner, Hawk Moth didn’t even try to hold back his laughter at the crisis she must be in and the conflict to come.

 

“What will you do now, Ladybug?” Sure, it wasn’t like she could hear him, but far be it from the super villain to not gloat as the new and improved Chat took up a fighting stance. His grin only widened at the look of horror growing on Ladybug’s face.

 

Hawk Moth expected her to plead with Chat Blanc to break free of his control. Which she did.

 

“Wake up, Chat! I don’t want to fight you!”

 

“Too bad,” his akuma sneered, “because a fight is all you’re going to get!”

 

Hawk Moth expected her to run away when her attempts to reason or reach Chat’s heart failed. Which she also did.

 

“Hey! Get back here!” Chat Blanc shouted as the costumed heroine swung away and eventually out of sight.

 

What Hawk Moth did not expect was for Ladybug to return 15 minutes later with a bag.

 

“What’s this?” He asked, more out of curiosity than anything. “Can you really bring yourself to fight against your own partner?”

 

The answer, in retrospect, should have been obvious to anyone who wasn’t Hawk Moth.

 

Because anyone paying attention would have been able to count at least three prior occasions where Ladybug DID fight against Chat Noir. Those people would also be able to note how she was able to defeat him surprisingly easily for a guy who is supposed to be the stronger fighter. And if any of those people were present, they might have pointed out to Hawk Moth that she wasn’t even fighting only Chat Noir on any of those occasions, either. Of course, the only reason “might” is being used is because this IS Hawk Moth, and since he HAS been terrorizing the city on a near constant basis, most of the people of Paris rather dislike him and would thus be less than inclined to warn him of why his current evil plot was doomed to failure if they in any way knew it was coming beforehand.

 

No, they would instead be getting popcorn.

 

And possibly taking bets.

 

Now sure, maybe it would be inappropriate to be gambling on a fight between the two heroes with the fate of Paris and all of existence as we know it hanging in the balance, except that followed couldn’t even be considered a “fight”.

 

That would suggest it was in any way even-sided.

 

* * *

  

Let it not be said that Marinette Dupain-Cheng did not plan for things. She did. Often and gratuitously. Perhaps overly so. Her classmates knew she was the one to go to when a task needed doing (part of what won her the position of Class Rep, after all). Alya, being her closest friend from that group, was somewhat concerned and not just a little terrified at the extent of some of the girl’s planning. Tikki was torn between being impressed and exasperated over some of her antics. Her parents, on the other hand, were honestly quite used to it by now and simply took the whole thing in stride while supporting her as best they could.

 

The thing was that preparation was Marinette’s strong suit. Just because those plans that involved romance or Adrien generally never worked out didn’t speak so much of her capability in strategizing as much as it did her love life as a whole. That’s more to be expected in a plucky female protagonist of a love square she comprises half of, so really, her failures in that department were only to be expected and had more to do with the fact that she was fighting against a pretty severe handicap in the first place.

 

But when it came to anything OUTSIDE of romance? Yeah. Marinette was a terrifying wonder to behold.

 

Lucky Charm was enough of an indicator of that. Give her a random object and while she may be confused at first, she would quickly engineer a plan that pretty much nobody else would even consider with whatever materials she had at her disposal. It didn’t force things to work out for her, at best it simply pointed her in a direction she could utilize. Ladybugs of the past had generally summoned weapons or created items with more direct use. The fact that Marinette was able to utilize anything in her general area made her various Lucky Charm objects perhaps among the simplest and yet most creative among the heroes so far. It said more about her capability as Ladybug than anything. But her ingenuity was quite evident in other areas of her life as well.

 

A hat contest? She could do hats. She had tons of hat designs. It wasn’t HER fault the contest in question was specifically for a bowler hat because why the hell make it a bowler hat of all things, but hey, she could improvise. Which she did, and rather well at that.

 

Someone trying to steal credit for her work? Hah, nice try since her name is on it. Though to be fair, that’s only common sense to sign one’s own artwork in case of issues like these, but still. Prior planning prevents Chloe from copying her and stealing credit for her idea.

 

It was part of the reason she devoted herself to fashion and creating unique outfits since it gave her an outlet and direction for her bursts of creativity. Drawing, designing, sewing, and hemming helped her focus—which became all the more necessary thanks to the added inspiration Tikki invoked in her. And she was sure not to let any of it go to waste, devoting herself to various areas and detailing all aspects and situations accordingly.

 

Class representative should have been overwhelming, but instead ended up being something else Marinette was able to excel at since she was in a natural position of leadership and organizing. For all that she worried she wouldn’t find time with her hero duties, she found she was able to make it work, much to the satisfaction of her classmates.

 

Yes, Marinette had plans. And backup plans. And backup plans for her backup plans. Her mind was always busy coming up with some new strategy to fit the occasion.

 

So this does come with the drawback of being a bit scattered when it comes to the present, but she can manage. Waking up late in the mornings? Okay. Clumsiness? She’s had years to get used to it. Accidentally running around outside in her pajamas and ending up being chased around town with Adrien? Quite honestly, she’s more pleased with the outcome of that situation and the fact she had been able to save Adrien. Though she could have done without the whole “in her pajamas” part of the situation.

 

But overall, little hiccups aside, she was rather satisfied with how most of her plans turned out. And it certainly helped her as Ladybug and the fact that her ability with planning and more or less MacGyvering her way out of situations with her Lucky Charm has allowed her to save the day pretty often.

 

However, given how crafty Hawk Moth could be and how little progress they had made in discovering his identity (because Gabriel Agreste clearly hasn’t been obvious enough of a suspect), Marinette didn’t want to be caught off guard in case he tried something particularly evil.

 

So it stood to reason that Marinette would develop a number of contingency plans for various circumstances.

 

She needs an excuse for where she was during an akuma fight? She had a list. She had multiple lists. Each about 100 points long. As well as potential alibis if she needed them and ways of convincing witnesses of her presence at certain areas if her location was ever questioned. She was not lacking in reasons to be missing at a convenient time.

 

Sky akuma? She had taken to researching and measuring the highest buildings in Paris as well as testing to see just how far her yo-yo could reach in case that type of distance ever became an issue. She had also looked up various air transport methods in the area and had the mayor as well as three other sources that could provide a helicopter if she ever needed one.

 

Her identity being revealed? She’s already worked out several plans to either try to refute the claim or how to respond if she couldn’t. She had worked out ways of creating a false identity—illegal and wrong, but necessary in those circumstances. She even set up multiple emergency escape plans from Paris if it really came down to it. And if worse came to worse, she had about a dozen ways to fake her own death—more morbid than she really wanted to get, but it was just in case she had no other options.

 

Adrien becomes an akuma? She was honestly hoping it would never come to that, but as it stood, he was the only other person in her class who HASN’T yet been a target by Hawk Moth and she knew it would be foolish to dismiss it as a possibility. She’d had to fight each of her classmates, her idol, and even her own family members when they became akumas. She couldn’t account for how she’d react upon facing Adrien, but she went over it in her head a multitude of times and was determined to not allow him to remain in that state anymore than she would for anyone else. Regardless of how much she didn’t want to hurt him...if she had to, she WOULD fight him to free him. And depending on what type of akuma he became, she currently had 23 ways of taking him down as quickly and carefully as possible.

 

Then there was herself…

 

They weren’t supposed to become akumas. As Miraculous holders, their kwamis were supposed to protect them and prevent them from falling to Hawk Moth’s command. They were supposed to be invulnerable to the corrupted process.

 

But “not supposed to” was not the same as saying it couldn’t happen. And Marinette was a planner.

 

She’d already worked out an emergency protocol with Tikki if she should at any point become akumatized herself. Neither of them liked to think about it, but it was a necessary discussion. Tikki was to take the earrings and immediately make her way to Master Fu’s. After the Dark Owl debacle, the plan was updated due to the realization that both earrings were needed to use the Miraculous and that Tikki knew who Chat was. So the plan was for Tikki to try to get even one of the earrings and flee. And if Marinette was turned too quickly for Tikki to manage that safely, she was to escape on her own and track down Chat Noir. With either one of the earrings or Tikki missing, the Miraculous would be useless to Hawk Moth even if he managed to get Marinette. She’d taken to keeping an extra stash of cookies on hand and in her room at all points in case Tikki needed the extra energy to make her escape.

 

It was scary to think about, but the two felt much better knowing they had a strategy ready just in case.

 

So with a plan for herself made, it didn’t take that much of a leap to start questioning the same for Chat Noir. Chat, who was her partner. Chat, who was a very capable fighter. Chat, who had already fallen to an akuma’s control previously. Multiple times. And it was with more relief than pride that she had been able to hold her own against him and the akuma in each instance, because while she had been able to save him even as he was fighting against her, there was still the very real issue that this usually meant she was fighting alone in those circumstances and that similar circumstances were still very likely to happen in the future.

 

Such as Chat Noir becoming akumatized. Which had finally happened.

 

Yeah. She kind of saw it coming. A little hard not to, because for all that the guy seemed to love to flirt and show off, they’d been working together long enough that she had come to see another side to him—a softer side and much sadder one. And while she didn’t know much about his home life—secret identities and all that—what she did know was that he was lonely. And an absentee father and an unrequited (maybe?) crush on her superhero persona were far from protective factors to avoid becoming a tool of a madman.

 

He’d been controlled before. And there were clearly issues going on in his normal life that could make him susceptible to an akuma if for any reason his Miraculous didn’t fully protect him.

 

As far as Marinette was concerned, she had gotten lucky in those previous instances where Chat was controlled. The methods of control or mannerisms of the akuma involved usually left Chat working at less than his full potential against her. With Dark Cupid, he was too caught up in his hate. With Princess Fragrance, he was wasting energy singing and prancing about. With Puppeteer, he was childish and only as effective as one being directed by a six year old could be. Despair Bear? The thing hampered his movement by holding his leg. Zombizu? Yeah, he’d been more focused on kissing anyone than on getting her Miraculous specifically. And while he never seemed to remember anything he did, she had some suspicion that a good part of his deficiency in fighting her came from his own reluctance to doing so.

 

But that was when he was only being controlled by an akuma, and Marinette had a sinking suspicion that it would be an entirely different matter if he was the one doing the fighting himself. And she had an even deeper sinking suspicion that it was only a matter of time before that happened. Whether because he would become akumatized or because something would happen to make him join Hawk Moth—because the likelihood of Chat turning out to be Hawk Moth’s son and being tempted into joining him in the dark side to rule the universe wasn’t nearly far enough outside the realm of possibilities for her comfort when it came to their strange lives as superheroes. And Marinette WAS a planner.

 

Thus began the development for a contingency plan in case of facing off against Chat Noir.

 

But this is Marinette, who had a good eye for detail and liked to plan for all kinds of circumstances. So even as much as she trusted her partner and wanted to believe that it would never be necessary, she began cataloguing an entire list of things to know regarding Chat in case he ever went evil—willingly or not. With that list in mind, she created “The Bag”.

 

And it seemed that the time had finally come.

 

Contingency Plan: Cat In The Bag is a go.

 

* * *

 

_"It takes as much effort to wish as it does to plan."_

 

Hawk Moth wishes.

 

Ladybug plans.

 

One of them actually gets results.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So this was born of another late night drabble/idea. While I like the concept of akumatized Chat Noir, I notice that most stories tend to follow a trend of having Ladybug fall apart rather easily over it. While I can certainly appreciate the emotional impact it would have to have on her to be forced to face her own partner at his lowest, it rarely seems to be touched on that this is the same Ladybug who has fought without Chat and even against him on multiple occasions. While I have no doubt she'd be upset over the issue, I'm hard pressed to think she wouldn't fight him to free him if she had to.
> 
> So I'm putting a slight new spin the concept as I tend to do with these things, and created this piece. While it is mostly for introspection and humor, I may or may not continue for the laughs.


End file.
